USA: Life After Human Trafficking: ‘No One Goes Back to the Way It Was Before’

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA BY Sean J. Miller for TakePart—
“Sarah was 18 when she left Ethiopia for a job as a domestic servant in the Middle East. For a woman with few prospects, it sounded like a great opportunity. She had no idea it would turn into a grueling nightmare.

The family she worked for made her sleep on the floor in the living room. She was up until the last of them went to sleep at night and awake before any in the household stirred. She had no private space and was kept from leaving the house unsupervised or making friends, let alone attend church. Sarah was tasked with a list of chores that would make Cinderella cringe: keeping the house, caring for the family’s elderly relatives and traveling with them abroad.

The family had adult children in the United States and would bring Sarah along on their visits. A couple years ago, Sarah was out shopping for the family in Seattle. She saw someone from Ethiopia. Desperate to escape her bondage, she asked for the woman’s phone number, made contact and was eventually convinced to flee the family she’d served like a slave for 16 years.”